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11 In Motherhood/ pregnancy/ Support

30 Things your Labor & Delivery Nurse wants you to know

 

It has been absolutely balls to the walls at work the past few weeks (thanks to Valentine’s Day and the release of 50 Shades Darker 9 months ago – hello job security!)  By the end of the day I’m starving, haven’t peed, my feet ache, I’m cranky to my husband and I’ve been away from my son for over 12 hours, but I still go back to work wanting more. Why? Because I have the best job in the world.  Don’t get me wrong, when it’s a bad day, it’s a horrible, unimaginable bad day. But I feel so privileged to be a part of so many women’s lives, through the highs and the lows.  

Here are 30 things your labor and delivery nurse wants you to know:

1.) Whether your baby comes out the vagina or you had a c-section – it doesn’t make you any more or less of a mother.
2.) Same goes for whether you went all natural or had an epidural – it doesn’t make your baby any different.
3.) But if it’s your goal to go all natural we will bust our butts to help get you there.
4.) We’ve seen all sorts of vaginas and they’re all different, And we won’t remember what yours looked like. 
5.) Being upright is your best friend – walk, get on the birth ball, dance. Whatever you do don’t just lay in bed.
6.) Babies don’t come with handles, we can’t just yank them out.
7.) Breast or formula, it’s up to you, fed is best!
8.) Nipples – they come in all shapes, sizes and colors.
9.) We may tell you you’re 8-9 cms, there’s a good bet your fully dilated, but we know its best for you and your baby if we let you labor down.
10.) There’s alot of swelling that goes on down there so don’t be surprised if yours looks like a ciabatta roll the next day. We can make you a magical diaper pack with ice, witch hazel and dermoplast
11.) We have no problem kicking all your family and friends out of the room so you can rest, have some private time with your partner or if they’re simply driving you crazy!
12.) When you came through our doors and there was no heartbeat, please know as soon as we walked out to our car we burst into tears and cried the whole way home.
13.) And when we got home we didn’t say a word to our families that night we just hugged our babies tight.
14.) We still pray for you and think of you. 
15.) If you come in with a birth plan, we’ll start prepping for your c-section because nothing ever goes to plan.
16.) If you’re a redhead, we will have every anti-hemmorrhage medication in the room and the hemorrhage cart outside the door because there’s a good chance you are going to bleed out on us and we want to ward off any bad juju.
17.) There is no evidence based research as to the benefits of consuming your placenta – just because the Kardashians did it doesn’t make it right.
18.) We don’t care that you lost your mucus plug and no we don’t want to see.
19.) Just because you’re 1-2 cms dilated or one day past your due date doesn’t mean your in labor – go home and labor in the comfort of your own home where you can eat and drink.
20) Also you’re not in active labor until you’re 5-6 cms dilated so don’t listen to those people that tell you they were in labor for 72 hours.
21.) Also being pregnant does not entitle you to be excused from work so don’t ask for a work note – We work 12 hour days on our feet holding heavy epiduralized legs pushing with our patients for 4 hours without eating or drinking and often times work right up until we deliver.
22.) We probably haven’t peed since before we left our house for work that day.
23.) And there’s a good chance we haven’t eaten either unless a family brings us food.
24.) Our families sacrifice alot – were gone most weekends and holidays and at work from sun up until sun down so please don’t be rude. 
25.) Make sure your partner or support person stays hydrated and fed – we don’t have time to pick them up off the floor. 
26.) Laboring in the shower, tub or on the toilet can do wonders.
27.) We may contort you into a bunch of crazy different positions that we know have successfully worked to get someone to deliver.
28.) Being in labor and something about new babies brings out the crazy in some people and their families. We’ve seen it all and nothing surprises us anymore.
29.) You have a right to ask questions and refuse anything. And we will advocate for you.
30.)  We still think birth is magical and we have the best jobs in the world. 

30 things your labor nurse wants you to know



9 In Baby/ Motherhood/ Support

Lessons learned the first year of motherhood

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breastfeeding, csection, epidural, what i learned my first year postpartum

I did it! I survived the first year (almost) of motherhood. I kept this tiny human alive for just about 365 days (he turns one next weekend). There were many tears, laughs, sleepless nights, large quantities of coffee consumed.  But here’s what I learned:

1.) Throw your plans and schedule to the wind, just go with the flow. 

2.) I never knew a turkey sub could taste so good!

3.) That first bowel movement after a c-section can make you feel like your insides are going to fall out. 

4.) I can function on very little to no sleep. 

5.) Breastfeeding is not as easy as it looks. 

6.) Speaking of breastfeeding, it doesn’t matter how you feed your baby.  

7.) Flexibility is key. 

8.) No one tells you that being a new mom can be depressing and somewhat isolating at first.

9.) But it does get better.

10.) “Sleep when the baby sleeps” is the biggest piece of BS advice. 

11.) But the laundry, dishes, cleaning and everything else can wait. 

12.) Just when you think you have something figured out, your baby will switch it up on you.

13.) Take lots and lots of photos and videos. Babies grow and change at an alarmingly fast speed.

14.) But don’t spend too much time with your face behind a screen. Be in the moment. 

15.) My body is amazing. 

16.) My husband is even more amazing! Not that I didn’t appreciate him before, but after being up at all hours of the night together and seeing him with my son, it’s a whole ‘nother kind of love.

17.) There’s nothing wrong with co-sleeping. Seriously when you just need sleep you’ll do whatever you have to do and I don’t regret a single snooze Maxwell has had on my chest, not a single one.

18.) Don’t sweat the small stuff- sh** literally happens, so does spit up for that matter. 

19.) You realize what’s really important. And everyone has their own priorities and that’s fine, I have my own too. 

20.) I’m more comfortable speaking up for myself and my family. 

21.) Everyone’s going to have something to say but you know what’s best for you and your baby.

22.) Whoever said daytime tv sucks was horribly wrong. I could watch Dateline for hours and hours. 

23.) But sitting at home for 24 hours a day gives me anxiety.

24.) I’m not meant to be a stay at home mom. I need a little adult interaction.

25.) A nice warm shower and brisk walk sometimes are the best medicine.  

26.) And when that fails, there’s nothing a solo trip to Target can’t fix.

27.) Speaking of solo trips to Target, I need my “me-time” and have learned to try to do one thing for myself each day because you can’t give from an empty cup.

28.) Whoever invented yoga pants is seriously the smartest person ever. #momuniform

29.) Sometimes you still just need your mom. 

30.) Leaving your child with someone else eventually does get easier.

31.) Your relationship with your partner will change, try to make time for each other even if it’s just a little date night at home.

32.) Your sex drive will change. Thanks hormones and exhaustion.

33.) It’s ok to cry.

34.) It’s also ok to ask for help.

35.) Find a good group of mom friends. 

36.) Every kid is different.

37.) There’s no “right way” to be a good parent.

38.) Comparison is a thief.

39.) If you feel like your sucking, you’re probably a good parent.

40.) Don’t buy so many toys. Babies can entertain themselves with boxes and containers for hours on end. 

41.) But do buy lots and lots of books.

42.) Baby smiles and belly laughs are better than any antidepressant.

43.) There is nothing quite like seeing your parents become grandparents.

44.) You can never be fully prepared to be a parent, you figure it out as you go.

45.) I can live with the shirt on my back and pasta every night as long as my kid is healthy and happy.

46.) There is no greater joy than watching your baby experience something new for the first time.

47.) But it is also bittersweet because you realize they are getting older.

48.) Mama bear syndrome is real – I’m getting better I think 😉

49.) I always felt bad for moms of boys but being a boy mom is pretty cool.

50.) Just when you think you can’t love your child anymore and your heart may explode, you love them even more.

motherhood has made me tired and happy quote

 

10 In Motherhood/ postpartum/ Support

Learning to love my postpartum body

 

We were on our first vacation as a new family of three.  I was getting ready for the beach and putting on my new one-piece bathing suit when my husband said to me “You look so beautiful.”
“Seriously can you just stop?” I replied as I gave him a look of disgust.
“I wish you were more confident in yourself and could see how incredible you are” my husband said to me.  Looking back, I have always struggled with poor body image.  I’ve never been comfortable being in a bathing suit or wearing shorts. Even when I was fit and toned when I was younger and in high school, I had pictures of thin celebrities plastered everywhere as a “motivator” to myself of how I should be.

Now motherhood has made my skin sag in certain places, I have a permanent scar on my bikini line from my c-section, my stretch marks on my breasts are like a road map, and I still have lumps in my behind from all those fertility injections.  I remember being freshly postpartum and feeling how jiggly my belly was, grabbing my skin that hung over my incision and thinking “I hope breastfeeding sucks me back in”.

But I am learning to love this new body and starting to change my perspective.

Instead I look at all the amazing things this body has done.  For 9 months it was a vessel, growing and nurturing a beautiful life.

Instead I see my postpartum body as a beautiful reminder of my strength, all that I went through to get pregnant and bring my precious son into the world.

When I look at my saggy tummy I remember how incredible it was watching my belly swell as life grew and how it felt to feel life moving inside.

My breasts deflated and nipples calloused are reminders of the sleepless nights nourishing my baby and the sacrifices I made.

I see selflessness of a mother and how I continue to put the needs of my son first. Instead of sessions at the gym I’m home doing endless loads of laundry, preparing meals or snuggling my sweet boy.

But I think the most important thing about learning to love my postpartum body is I can teach my son to respect women’s bodies and that this is what normal looks like – not those photoshopped images of women in magazines.  I can be an example of a woman who is comfortable in her own skin and for that I am grateful.

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