10 Things I Didn't Expect Postpartum

10)  Night Sweats
Holy cow.  I remember that first night in the hospital after Jack was born waking up absolutely drenched in sweat.  Gross dude.  It has tapered off a bit and definitely not so bad but yeah...it was a rough...wet...first couple of weeks of "sleep".  Sleep?  ha!  HAHAHAHA!  :)

9) B.O.
Body odor.  Maybe this is just me.  Seriously though folks...my pits stink.  And not like my normal stink.  This is a whole new level...and I don't even DO anything every day.  Can you imagine if I went on a run.  I'd drop you to the floor...I'm telling you.  :)

8) Water
Good grief I cannot drink enough water.  I drink and drink and drink and DRINK and yet...I still feel dehydrated.  My little monster really likes to nurse so I think the frequency is kinda sucking the life out of me...no pun intended.  :)

7) My body
So, this is a positive one.  I totally expected to feel really uncomfortable in my skin after I had Jack.  I thought that the flabby skin and extra "cushion" acquired from pregnancy would make me feel uncomfortable and very unattractive.  In reality though...it hasn't bothered me.  And that's been nice...and surprising.  I mean...I was hecka thin before my pregnancy.  Anyways, I'm losing the weight but feel no crazy hurry to do so.  It will happen when it happens and in the mean time I'm content.  I mean...I brought a LIFE into this world.  :)  That's totally worth getting flabby and soft for right?

6) Breastfeeding
This is a mixed basket.  I am totally in awe over the fact that I possess within my body something that sustains our little one...and it's FREE!  I mean, it's really quite amazing when you think about it.  I enjoy breastfeeding and definitely feel like it's a sweet time of bonding between Jack and I.  At the same time though I wasn't planning on birthing a baby with a short frenulum and having to use a nipple shield.  The nipple shield is necessary but seriously...it's sort of a pain...and it's messy.  I WISH I didn't have to use it...but I'm glad there exists an option for us.  One that doesn't cause me pain and makes it easier for little Jack to get his white gold.   :)

5) Appetite
I've had a weird thing with food for most of my pregnancy.  I had no appetite for almost my whole pregnancy...except maybe 2 months in the middle.  I thought that it would come back fully once Jack was born.  Honestly, I'm just now sorta getting my appetite back, one month later.  The worst part is that I just want carbs.  Cookies, chips, pasta, etc.  Lovely.  It's a good thing I'm okay with my baby weight right?   haha.  Cause it ain't coming off anytime soon at THIS rate.  :)

4) Sleep
Nobody prepared me for this.  I mean, they tried to but I think I was in denial.  It seriously seems unfair to make you go through childbirth...one of the most physically exhausting things ever and then take away your sleep for the next 3 months or so afterwards.  Oye vay.  You should see me at those 2am and 5am feedings.  I look like a bobble head trying to keep awake.  I actually totally fell asleep once and woke up to Jack also asleep on my lap.  Yikes.  It's brutal.  I kinda feel like a basket case.  Things that are not logical run through my mind.  And my reaction time...a bit slow.  Jack fully peed all over the wall for like 10 seconds while I was changing his diaper before I figured out what was happening and  I threw a diaper over him...of course he had already emptied his bladder at that point...ON THE WALL...and on his wind-up giraffe...and on a few other things.  I think I thought I'd have the infant who sleeps through the night at 3 weeks old.  Ha!  Um no.  Kid loves his milk a little too much.  He's like clock work.  Every 3 hours.  And it doesn't look like he's going to change that any time soon.  I mean, don't get me wrong...he's worth it.  :)  But it'll be nice when he starts to sleep a little longer.

3) Going Pee
Okay, this is a little TMI but nobody told me that you might not be able to pee after giving birth.  Seriously, it's weird.  They almost put the catheter back in less then 12 hours before we were supposed to be discharged from the hospital.  I had to practically beg them not to do it...to give me the chance to do it alone.  When I could go I had zero control over it.  I needed a bathroom and I needed it yesterday.  Honestly, the bladder is just now feeling normal.

2) Hip pain
So, I dealt with this at the end of my pregnancy.  I was looking forward to this going away once I gave birth.  HA!  The first couple of weeks after birth gave me hip pain like no other.  Way WAY worse then anything I experienced while pregnant.  Seriously, I was limping around the house, barely able to lift my right leg off the floor.  I just sorta dragged (drug?  why does that look weird?) my leg behind me.  Lovely.  Fortunately they feel pretty good now.  So, it wasn't permanent :)

1) Alone time and conversation with friends = Necessary
So, I kinda thought I'd be a super mom.  You know, I'd live and breath my baby and I'd do it whole heartedly and never need a break and yeah...cause I'm awesome like that.  Um yeah.  I was shocked to find myself wanting to run an errand by myself only 2 weeks after Jack was born.  At first I felt guilty.  Then I realized...it's okay.  It's not like I'm running away.  I just want to go grab a cup of coffee and a few groceries on my own for an hour.  No big deal.  It helped that Jason was pushing me out of the house...encouraging me to take some time by myself.  It was amazing what an hour did for me.  I felt like a new person.  It made me miss my baby.  Which is a good thing.  Also, meeting with friends...even with baby in tow has been great.  So refreshing.  It reminds you that you are still YOU.

And THAT is what I've learned about postpartum life.  :)