So, you're looking down at the beachball that has taken up residence under your shirt, digging into your third bowl of ice cream for the night, and trying to adjust your position on the couch so that your back isn't aching, and you think to yourself, "Can I just have my baby now?!"
You, along with every other mama who has made it to the last month of pregnancy, have experienced that all-consuming discomfort that makes going through childbirth seem like a better option. Just let that soak in papas. *ahem* Being preggo is absolutely rough on a mama's bod, and when she makes it to the end, or even goes past that silly day they call a "due date," you are more than ready to trade in your adorable little ultrasound for a snuggly newborn. But the truth is, while having a baby can take away your pregnancy aches and pains, you end up trading in for some new ones! Well after just having our little girl a couple of months ago, I thought it would be fun (lol) to talk about the owies that you are feeling right before babe arrives, and the owies that you get in return when she shows up!
Back Pain
Pregnant: Your baby is currently putting so much pressure on your pelvis that your lower back is in a constant state of ache. No matter how you move, how many times you plug in your heating pad, or have your man massage your back, you are still gonna feel it. It makes walking annoying, sleeping impossible, and sitting an absolute joke (the unfunny kind). Postpartum: Now that you're holding babe close to your chest, instead of between your hips, you're going to start feeling the pain from bending over to change diapers, picking her up out of her bassinet every 30 minutes, and nursing. Trying to get your baby to eat, sleep, and be happy is hard work on a mama's back, and, strangely enough, the "lift with your knees" tip doesn't help much when it comes to mama work.
No Sleep
Pregnant: You've been banished to your sides (but, let's be honest, we all have a favorite way to face), you've banished your husband from the bed so that you can try to get into a
comfortable bearable position, and you have pillows piled up around you so you look like freaking Fort Knox. You get an hour here and an hour there before you are up thanks to your hips screaming in pain, your back screaming in pain, or your bladder screaming in pain. Then it takes you an hour to fall back asleep. And repeat. Postpartum: Your newborn is used to all those late night ups and downs, so they're just gonna do everyone a solid and keep up the schedule they're used to...soooo considerate. The first month your little one is going to be waking up pretty much all the time. You can for sure count on them to let you know when they're ready to eat every
2 hours 30 minutes. You're pretty much walking around in a constant state of sort-of-sleeping all day and night. Caffeine, anyone?
Boobs
Pregnant: Why are they so humongous? You've completely lost the battle between never wanting to wear a bra because it's digging into your shoulders and back, and needing to wear a bra because having them hang loose is not only a hazard, but downright uncomfortable. They're tender and sore and you're already leaking all over your bed, which just is a huge waste of colostrum and laundry detergent. Postpartum: This cannot be fair. Your boobs are producing more milk than you've ever seen before, which incidentally doesn't feel great. You can't even look at your babe without ending up with the unsettling sensation of a leaky faucet(s) soaking your fifth shirt of the day. Your nipples are raw and sore, and you've used so much nipple cream that you are keeping it in your pocket to put on whenever you even think about your boobs. Let's not even mention showering. *sobbing whenever water hits boobs*
Hunger
Pregnant: This one is pretty obvious. Must. Eat. All. The. Time. You are either absolutely hangry and need food to put in your mouth immediately, or you ate so much that you feel like you're about to throw up. Your stomach is sitting so far up in your body that every time you swallow, you feel like you're swallowing your last bite of...whatever it was you ate, and let's not even get into the heartburn discussion. Although, can we all just pool our resources and send the creator of Tums a nice fruit basket or something? Postpartum: Remember when everyone told you that you would be like super tiny as soon as you started breastfeeding? Well don't hate them for being optimistic. The only problem is that feeding your baby from your breast tends to make you ravenous. Like, acting as though you have never seen food in your life. You are pretty much eating whatever is in sight to keep your stomach full, to give you energy to make it to babe's next nap, and to make sure you're not gonna dry up. Constantly having food within arms reach is a must.
Cramps
Pregnant: Waking up with a leg cramp that makes you rethink all your life choices, including why you hate bananas, is totally normal when you're nine months pregnant. Feet cramping up because you've been eating a bag of Target popcorn, and walking around the store for the last three hours casually perusing the baby clearance
clothes while hoping to go into labor, is totally normal when you're nine months pregnant. Cramping in your neck and shoulders because you weren't able to adjust your pillow fort in such a way as to produce maximum support for your back, hips, neck, and stomach is totally normal when you're nine months pregnant. It is also a straight-up nightmare. Postpartum: So yeah, you know that monthly gem that came around like clockwork before you had babe? Well, she's back. And she's sticking around for about a month. *shudder* You're going to be dealing with menstrual cramps pretty much non-stop for the first few days, and then on and off until it finally end. And, bonus--breastfeeding will make you cramp, which is real nice. Thankfully, once your uterus gets its act together and shrinks back to normal size, you can just count on the normal monthly cramps...actually, that kind of sucks too.
Having a baby means you're signing up to forfeit your comfort to bring a miracle into the world. All mamas are happy to do it, but it doesn't mean it's always easy. Being pregnant is hard. Having a newborn is hard. Where there's pain with one, there's pain with the other. But the funny thing about life is that you'll be able to look past all that discomfort every time you look into your little one's sweet eyes...and then groan because you need to change your shirt again. XO
Featured Image PC: @hayleynbradley
