[open] The 4th Trimester

[Linnis]

I honestly never had any uterus shrinking pain and I am breast feeding. I'm not as thin as I was before but I needed the extra weight, I was pretty thin before I got pregnant. I feel healthier with the 10 or so extra lbs.

As of Monday, Ethan's 3 months and I'm out of the 4th trimester.

 

[jessesgirl]

Yeah, I didn't need any of the extra weight, I had enough to begin with I still have that pregnant belly and that is what is driving me nuts and keeping me from getting into my jeans...I guess I should give it a little time though.

 

[Leanna]

The "shrinking uterus" pain either doesn't generally happen or isn't very bad at all with a first baby. I'm sad to hear a nurse told you something like that though.

My husband is taking a week off after the baby is born. Yay. He'll mostly be entertaining David so that baby and I can adjust to breastfeeding. But of course I'll also cuddle David too.

 

[Singin4Him]

I agree with Leanna, it makes me sad the nurse is going around telling new mothers that. It's awfully discouraging! I didn't have any cramping at all, breastfeeding is a challenge when you're new at it and sure it's a little painful at first as your nipples get used to it, but personally I feel it's been worth it for us. It got much easier one we got into a good routine.

 

[Linnis]

By six weeks by belly was smaller and it's kept shrinking. I'm not all the way back to my pre-pregnancy belly but I stretched sixteen inches.

I'm now one size bigger than I was before unless the jeans are low rise.

Yep, the first 3-4 weeks of breastfeeding was pretty difficult for me but I'm glad I stuck it out. We now have a great breast feeding relationship and he's five pounds above birth weight.

 

[purpleunicorn_Andi]

with Robert the first month and a half of the "4th trimester" he was still in the hospital. so yeah there was a lot of depression from me those first 6 weeks... and the whole breastmilk accident didn't help matters any, made me give up hope of breastfeeding him at all... I tried to keep pumping, but was discouraged... hopefully I will be able to breast feed this one when he gets here.

 

[jessesgirl]

Well it prob. would have bothered memore if I had planned on breastfeeding, but I planned to bottle feed all along.

My mom took 1/2 a week off and came to stay but she is a teacher and state tests are coming up, so she had to go back. Hubby is just taking 1/2 days or whole days as I need him to (or as he gets iced in). It has worked out really well, except that he has his days and nights ALL kinds of mixed up. If I could get him to sleep his daily seven hour straight @ night, we would be set.

 

[ChildByGrace]

I know i'm still a long way away from the 4th trimester but i aleady know a few things that i am planning on doing after i've had the baby.

My H will take a week or two off work but we're not sure when yet.
I am planning on having my mom come and stay with me for a few days to get the breast feeding going. We should be able to do this without too many problems as my H is going away at the beginning of Aug for a week - so as long as the baby is on time or early it'll be fine.

I've also got my sister on hand and i'm sure that she'll come and amuse the baby while i'm cleaning etc.

Plus we have a great church where people will make us meals.



Linnis - as you are breast feeding.....do you steralize bottles every day just in case he decides he doesn't want to be breast fed anymore?

 

[RoseofLima]

My hubby will take 3-4 weeks off- going into work ocassionally after the big kids are in bed. ( That still leaves him with 2 weeks of vacation). My MIL has agreed to take a week off when the baby is born so that the big kids can go hang out at her house during the day- and so my husband can be with me in the hospital.

I am sure there will be some people bringing us some food.

I have some wicked bad post birth contractions---but I have had a whole lotta babies! However- it really only lasts a day or two--and it makes me very thankful to feel it, because it means my uterus is doing what it is supposed to and I am not ind danger of bleeding out.

The worst after effect for me- are night sweats...I wake up just soaking wet....

 

[jessesgirl]

I had those really bad the last trimester, but they have gone away since I had Justin...which is odd, but I am freezing ALL the time now...I don't have my 8 lb. heater anymore!!!

 

[RoseofLima]

I had those really bad the last trimester, but they have gone away since I had Justin...which is odd, but I am freezing ALL the time now...I don't have my 8 lb. heater anymore!!!

LOL! Yeah- and the weather(here at least) just went from being really warm to freezing!!

My hormones just rage out of control for the first week or two after the baby. I like to think of it all as training for menopause

 

[jessesgirl]

/yeah it has been in the 20s here. usually in the 50s not ideal for the 1st couple of weeks w/o my little internal heater lol

 

[RoseofLima]

That's so funny- "your internal heater"-- I call mine my portable space heater

 

[jessesgirl]

lol yeah so now that his tummy has been hurting, he can only get rest on his stomach so what little he gets is across my chest so now he's my external heater...not quite so little!

 

[Linnis]

Ethan is very warm also.

My DH took off a week but that's all we could afford. After that I was completely on my own with the baby 8-10 hours a day which is probably why it took me until 7-8 weeks to find my sanity again.

That and those 28 stitches...icky.

I'm glad I didn't have help though, my husband's mother would just annoy me.

 

[RoseofLima]

lol yeah so now that his tummy has been hurting, he can only get rest on his stomach so what little he gets is across my chest so now he's my external heater...not quite so little!

LOL! Yeah- mine come out and then go into their "Second womb"...my fleece sling- where they live for much of their day after the first week or two It's like the same heating capacity- only with fleece

 

[RoseofLima]

Ethan is very warm also.

My DH took off a week but that's all we could afford. After that I was completely on my own with the baby 8-10 hours a day which is probably why it took me until 7-8 weeks to find my sanity again.

That and those 28 stitches...icky.

I'm glad I didn't have help though, my husband's mother would just annoy me.

Oh-- I hear you! I want my MIL off so my kids can go to her house....but my husband knows that she needs to not come here. I learned after my first-- that my mom can be nowhere around me for like 2 or 3 months after having a baby. She is way too high strung and has a need to be the center of attention and to give unwarranted advice....at this point I have far more experience than her- so I can usually find a polite way to say "Shut up!"

 

[jessesgirl]

My MIL would have been great, but my mother would not have heard of such (first grandchild LOL). My mom and my MIL are pretty much one in the same, though. I am blessed in that aspect. My stitches KILLED me the first couple of days (of course, I had nowhere near 28!). I kept thinking that I busted them, but I guess I never did. I have been pretty well on my own with Justin since Saturday, give a day and a half when hubby had to stay home b/c of the weather. He gets home around three in the afternoon, I try and sleep 4-5 hours and then we eat dinner and he goes to bed. He has a pretty high stress job so I try really hard to let him sleep as much as possible at night.

 

[Singin4Him]

Well it prob. would have bothered memore if I had planned on breastfeeding, but I planned to bottle feed all along.

If you don't mind me asking, what made you decide against breastfeeding?

I hear you all about being chilly! I was so happy to be able to say I was cold for once...and I'm sure my husband has been happy he's not sleeping in the North Pole anymore!

 

[Linnis]

Well I had a stupid nurse who told me not to soak the stitches...once I found out I could....made a world of difference. By 3-4 weeks they were out and pretty much healed although if I walked a lot I'd start bleeding again.

If I would have been living near my own family I'd have had more help but we survived. Ethan and I basically hung out in bed, slept, nursed, watched TV, read...I did spend quite a lot of time just watching him.