What they don’t tell you about postpartum

Anything you don’t experience, however, usually makes you apprehensive, let alone with the hormones in your body that throw tantrums.

So we decided to draw up a (fortunately) short tragicomic and ironic list of what is usually not told about postpartum, but which is frequently experienced when returning home from the hospital, during the first periods of hormonal adjustment (** *).

You are the queens of easy tears

You cry because you have never been happier in your life and you cry because you feel sad but you don’t know why. Cry because you are tired or because the baby cries and if he has colic you will find yourself calling all the saints on the calendar to get your baby out of the wind.

Yes, you read right, your child’s farts will seem like a blessing from heaven! You never thought that huh?

Cry because you can’t dedicate time to the other child, if you have another child, cry because you cry and you can’t stop crying.

You also cry because your boyfriend asks you why you cry.

The first days at home can be full of tears but it is a passing thing and of which only a faint memory will remain.(***)

Wow if you sweat!

Another thing they don’t tell you is that you sweat , wow how you sweat!

You will feel hot and sticky. It will happen that you wake up in the middle of the night but not because the baby is calling you but because you are hot, very hot.

There is no cold shower or air conditioning that can soothe the heat you feel. You will go around the house in your underwear to find some refreshment but be careful not to pass half-naked in front of the windows!

Thirsty like in the desert

You are probably thirsty . You are thirsty, very thirsty.

It will happen that the baby wakes you up to be breastfed, you attack him to breastfeed him but you are hot (very hot) and very thirsty.

You call your partner to bring you water but he doesn’t wake up: you call him once, twice, three times, then start with a kick before moving on to the hard way.

You want water and now! He wakes up but his reflexes are slow and you are in a hurry because you are thirsty and it seems to you the most important thing in the world.

And you probably start crying because you don’t feel understood. From the following evening you will put the 2 liter bottle of water on the bedside table.

Damn cramps

The cramps.  Not those of the legs but the uterine cramps . The first moments come every time you breastfeed the baby and become more intense with subsequent pregnancies.

So what seemed like light cramps while breastfeeding your first child will seem like appendicitis pains when you breastfeed your second. Prepare yourself!

Looking for worries

You worry about everything. On the whole.

From day one you worry about not having a safe house for when, in a year, the child will start walking.

You wake up in the night and listen to the baby’s breathing.

You worry about not getting enough milk or too much.

You worry that you won’t be able to support him when he goes to university

And you worry about worries. But most of all you worry about not being a good mother. But do you think a bad mother worries that much?

But in the end…

Becoming a mother is a real emotional and physical tornado but it’s worth it.

Why? Because your child will look at you and smile at you and you will feel like the happiest and luckiest woman in the world and in that moment your only concern (and we say this without any kind of irony) will be to be able to keep that happy smile for life.

(***) Getting serious if you think you’re at risk of baby blues or postpartum depression , it’s important to talk to your partner and your doctor.

If symptoms of depression persist, your doctor may suggest a thyroid test (irregular thyroid hormone levels can lead to emotional instability). If this doesn’t seem to be the problem, the doctor may recommend that the woman be referred to a psychotherapist.

There are support groups throughout the country for women suffering from postpartum depression.

Fortunately, postpartum depression is one of the most treatable forms of depression. If you are affected do not hesitate to ask for help.