'I'd been told my whole life that when you have a baby, you immediately love them, and I didn't feel that. I worried something was wrong with me, so I didn't tell anyone...'
"I'd been told my whole life that when you have a baby, you immediately love them, and I didn't feel that. I worried something was wrong with me, so I didn't tell anyone..."There's nothing quite as intimidating and anxiety-inducing as becoming a first-time mother. Pregnancy and childbirth are experiences that nothing can prepare you for, and they come with lots of surprises.
"...With child number two, the nurses chided me for breathing so heavily, saying it was too early and I was going to hyperventilate. Guess what? The baby had descended, and he came two pushes later. I'm not trying to say the medical help was terrible. Instead, they can only know what's going on by observation. Trust yourself — you know your pain tolerance better than anyone else, and even if this is the first pregnancy, listen to your gut.
"Labor isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be. When I found out I was pregnant, I was scared. Not about the birth but because I didn't think I was ready. When they told me they were going to induce me in a week, I freaked out because I thought it would be the worst experience ever. Then they told me they were going to induce me THAT DAY!! I cried — a LOT. I wasn't ready to push out a human! I wasn't ready to be put through it all.
"This is something I didn't find out until I was in the hospital after I had my third baby. When you breastfeed after giving birth, it makes your uterus contract to help it shrink back to normal size. I barely remember it with my first two, but it hurt so badly with my third. It felt like I was in labor again. It was so intense that I had to stop and curl up in a fetal position on the bed for a few minutes. Then I'd return to feeding the baby, and it would happen again.
"No one told me how incredibly sick you can get after giving birth. I had my baby 11 days ago. Labor went fine. After he was born, he was not so fine. The placenta was stuck, and the one-hour mark was closing in . They pushed on my belly, and were starting to panic a little. The doctor had to come in, and she ripped my placenta out. Ok, good, no surgery..."
"I cried once during my pregnancy: the day I found out that you will leave the hospital looking five months pregnant and won't fit into your regular clothes. I thought all those contractions would just flatten out my belly like magic. I wish I'd known that earlier."
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
7 Things Millennial Parents Wish Their Parents UnderstoodMarie Holmes is the parenting reporter at HuffPost. Her work has appeared in Scary Mommy, Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, The Washington Post and other publications. She lives with her wife and their two children in New York City.
Read more »
A Personal Perspective: What I wish my parents had known about grief.A Personal Perspective: Even when tragedy strikes, parenting does not end. Parents and children deserve more information and clarity about grief. This is my story.
Read more »
Gift of Life: Pregnancy registry helps transplant recipients become parentsAnna Fischman received the gift of life as a baby when her liver failed. She's now been able to give the gift of life to two children, with the help of the Transplant Pregnancy Registry International.
Read more »
12 Times Actors’ Parents Played Their Onscreen ParentsTIL Blake Lively's dad, Ernie, played her father in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants!
Read more »
The Penguin Director Breaks Down Episode 1’s Biggest SurprisesThe Penguin Episode 1 Post-Mortem Interview
Read more »
Nick Cannon Teases Surprises From The Masked Singer AmbassadorsBefore season 12 of ‘The Masked Singer’ begins, Nick Cannon shared a sneak peek into what fans can expect with the show’s first-ever ambassadors
Read more »