Post-baby… 5 Things No One Warned Me About

Recently, thinking about the potential for baby #3 got me remembering the things I almost forgot about the first two times I gave birth, and the worst things that I encountered that no one seems to warn you about…

Forget about the stretch marks, birthing pain, c-section recovery, or literally being knocked out unconscious to give birth. These 5 things are what I’m stressing over as we consider expanding our family. Things I don’t love the idea of reliving, if I’m honest.

Photo Credit: Kirsten Solberg Photography

1. Night Sweats

This might be a c-section thing (not sure) but this was by far the thing I hated the worst. I actually tried to forget this happened, and then right when we began thinking about baby #3, BAM! First thing that popped into my mind. Do I really want to have bed sweats for 30+ days all over again?! This doesn’t happen to everyone, but it was in full force for me and I’m not going to sugar coat it… it was disgusting! As I’m typing this I can still remember the smell of it. It was a smell like I had never experienced before. Jamie, my husband, even had to leave the room in the middle of the night at times.

I was told that when you have a c-section, your body has to let out all the toxins, so bring on the sweating. I have no idea if this is true, but it makes sense to me! So who knows what was coming out of me, but by the smell of it, it wasn’t pretty.

Photo Credit: Kirsten Solberg Photography

2. Periods

To be honest, I might as well be having another baby once a month. SO. MUCH. BLOOD. Prior to babies, no cramps. I’d maybe have 3 day periods… Now? Let the massacre begin! I never was a pad girl before, but yep… bring on the pads and tampons, and be ready to run to the bathroom pretty regularly. #womanhood

3. Hair Loss

My 2nd is already 2 years old, and just now are my bald spots regrowing. Never was I ever warned about any of this prior to my first delivery. 6 months post 1st baby and glops of hair fell out of my head. I cried. Now I see new moms crying all the time and I think I know why.

And it seems as though so often we forget to warn new momma’s… Fact: you’ll lose all the hair. And then once your hair grows back in, your kids will be old enough to literally just tear it out! Which I get now why the “mom hair” – aka short haircut – became a thing. They gave up! And I recently just chopped mine all off for this very reason.

Photo Credit: Kirsten Solberg Photography

4. Chills During Labor

My cousin warned me about this literally as I was giving birth to my 1st and afterward I was actually mad for the short notice. No book or website I had read warned me about this. And it was SCARY!

After delivering both of my boys, my body went into shock and I remember shaking uncontrollably. I also forgot to warn Jamie, and he said it was the most terrifying thing ever. Maybe should have thought about having a back-up support call for him, haha! But seriously, I hated watching my husband not know what to do and looking him in the eyes to find him even more scared than me.

5. You’ll never be the same person again

In fairness, I was warned about this, but what I thought people meant was that I would just have a different outlook on life.

But what they meant was… you’ll actually turn into a totally different person. HELLO HORMONES!

Things I liked before, I don’t like now. Things I hated, I love. This includes food, people, activities, etc. It’s actually mind-boggling to me to this day. You still have the same heart, and that’s what’s important… but you’ll find yourself craving different foods, experiences you never cared about before and, sometimes, want nothing to do with some people that have been in your life. And selfishly, I’ve loved every minute of this part. But others might not. Because the good thing is, with these super mom powers… you literally know you can take on and do anything and no one is going to stop you along the way!

But even after thinking back on these 5 things that scared the poop out of me to this day, even two years later, I’d do it all over again for baby #3! So for those asking if we’re having another... we’re trying and just praying for one.

So, mamas, tell me. What does your list of 5 things look like?

Photo Credit: Samantha Cater Photography