after labour/postpartum recovery

i had a natural hypnobirth with no pain meds. what i learned is hospitals are extremely hot and i packed way to much stuff. next time my bag and baby's bag will fit into one small bag (you have very little space in hospital)

decide before hand what you want for you and your baby and stick to it - nurses at hospital are very pushy and manipulate you to fall into what is convenient for them
if you want to breastfeed, get lots of information about it and do not accept it if nurses tell you that your baby need a bottle, they will find any lame excuse to feed your baby a bottle as it is much more work for them to help you with breast feeding.
a nurse took one look at me and said i will not be able to breastfeed as my nipples are not right. she will take my baby and feed him. i was so furious i could explode. i refused and stuggled through the night, but he did not get any formula. the next day saw a lactation consultant and lb was feeding like a champ in about 3 seconds

with normal birth you are up and about immediately and that is a great plus. i took a much needed shower about an hour after birth and felt so refreshed.

i tore and got stitches, though it was painful, it was a minor thing - just took the pain meds as prescribed. if you go normal - definitely take a lot of coarse salt and put a lot of it in the bath.

what i will also do differently is to say no to all the curious visitors for the first few weeks and just spend some time alone with baby at home - there will be lots of time for other people to come and visit. this time i will only allow my parents and direct in'laws for the first 4 weeks. my lb was 3 weeks old before i had one day without any visitors, not again thank you.

and also accept help from your closest relatives, do not try to do everything alone even if you want to, you will be very tired those first few weeks. if friends ask you if you need anything, tell them to bring you dinner (you will appreciate that much more than you think now)

the biggest thin of all is to trust you own instinct - YOU WILL KNOW WHAT IS BEST FOR YOUR BABY, DO NOT DOUBT YOURSELF. do not get confused about what others think or say. there is no wrong or wright with babies, you do what is best for you and your baby.

do not read to many baby books - it only creates false expectations and will make you doubt yourself - babies do not follow the book. your baby will slot into his/her own routine. and do not expect your baby to sleep through at 6 weeks old.

Antz08 I really had no desire to have a normal birth, I've always wanted a c-section because I do not deal well with unplanned things that involve pain! But baby is measuring very small, so at this stage she isn't giving me any excuse for a c-section I won't ask for an elective c-section. So I'm trying to get my mind wrapped around the idea of normal birth, just really worried about all the possible complications that can go with that!! I'm a real wimp!

Hi Irene

I think i was just lucky... i did try those exercises one should do but it was too uncomfortable... I know the nurses "stretched" me everytime they did an internal exam... Not sure if that helped?

Are you gonna try for natural? Which hospital are you going to?

Angie - i used the band... took it with me to hospital and could wear it immediately after i washed! It really works!

Antz08, did you do anything beforehand in order not to tear? Or were you just lucky? Always sounds to me like most people do tear ;(

Have any of you ladies tried Cherished Belly's products?

Wow thank you for the tips ladies I am also a FTM and I am totally clueless

Hi Trinity

Not sure what type of birth you are having, and see you have quite a few responses on C-sections...

I had to natural births, with no epidurals... Also didnt have stitches or tear... Not sure if it was the natural births but i did see that i bled quite a bit... so those maternity pads are really good for the first few days. I didnt wear the maternity panties but bought panties from Shelley at Edgars - real granny panties - they held the pad in place better!

I did find that allowing the babies to latch immediately from being placed on your stoach - think its called rooting - allows the breastfeeding to take place more instantaneously.

Yes the bath salts are a must for natural birth... lots of Lansinoh cream for the breasts too... and if you are in pain take the pain meds religiously while in hospital - they are a God send.

The thing with natural is that you are up and about so much quicker... my daughter was born at 00:00 and by 02:00 i was showered and clean and comfy... So not much in terms of after care... Cant help with the stitches part sorry.

All the best!