It’s impossible to know exactly how being a parent feels until you become one. Everyone in your life will give you countless pieces of advice (some of which you will definitely want to ignore), but it’s ultimately up to you and your partner to decide how you want to raise your children.
The whole experience of becoming a parent can be daunting from the start, especially the idea of giving birth for moms. And while it’s expected for this to be intense and painful, there are still some things that moms wish they had been warned about beforehand. To help others feel more prepared and less alone, mothers on Threads have been discussing all of the unexpected experiences and side effects that occurred after giving birth. We’ve compiled a list of their replies below, so be sure to upvote the ones that nobody prepared you for either!
#21
Breastfeeding is painful in those first few weeks (I’m on baby 4), the afterbirth cramps hurt worse the more kids you’ve had, the sweats/chills post partum because of hormone drop off, how lonely you can feel in the overnight hours, it’s ok to ask for help, trust your instincts and go for the second opinion.
4points
#22
The uterus massages hurt worse than labor & the adrenaline crash is CRAZY.
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4points
#23
nobody told me how lonely it gets after having a baby, and how much it actually hurts.
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4points
#24
We’ve all heard about the v****a tearing but nobody and I mean nobody told me your a*s hole could tear.
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4points
#25
How they make you get up and walk to the bathroom like immediately after. I’m sorry, you want me to do WHAT?
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4points
#26
Nobody told me that during labor I wouldn't be allowed to go to the toilet and every once in a while a nurse would come to stick a tube into my pee hole and DRAIN my bladder. It's been 6 months and I still can't fully hold my pee completely like before.
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4points
#27
That when you let your baby latch the sucking starts to contract your uterus, which is extremely painful the same day you just had labor contractions. It’s the same pain.
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4points
#29
If you have a c section the most painful thing is the trapped wind for 3 days after. I needed morphine for that alone.
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4points
#30
The contractions AFTER birth when your uterus is shrinking back to normal size. And how nursing INCREASES these cramps. WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME. I thought after the placenta was out I was home free.
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4points
#31
That all of my hair would fall out and then grow back in making me look bald and then insane.
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4points
#33
The itchiness when the epidural wears off. I was ready to shave my head.
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3points
#34
When you stand up for the first time and all your organs slosh back into place.
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3points
#35
How chapped and painful your n**ples get from breastfeeding. Like w*f why are my n**ples bleeding and feeling like their gonna fall off but I still have to feed a baby with them.
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3points
#36
Nobody told me that the first time you pee is like the fire of the gates of hell between your legs.
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3points
#37
Mastitis, finding time and a place to pump at work is a joke, c-section recovery is no joke, get the epidural.
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3points
#38
It hurts when your organs start rearranging back into place it’s like a weird, hollow, dull ache.
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3points
#40
That Post Partum can come with horrific catastrophizing OCD level intrusive thoughts. Traumatized my d**n self.
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3points